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Witness History

Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.

When you subscribe to Witness History, you’ll be taken inside turning points in world affairs, from West Africa’s fight back against Boko Haram in 2015, to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations.

You’ll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal’s worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

You’ll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden’s Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles’ George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy’s show to a sudden end.

And if you’re curious about inventions, we’ll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.

If you’re new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.

Copyright: © (C) BBC 2024

Latest Episodes:

Oslo Peace Accords: The secret talks behind Middle East deal Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

In September 1993, a peace agreement was signed between Israel and the Palestinians after months of secret negotiations.

The historic handshake between Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin took place on the lawn of the White House.

Mona Juul and her husband were part of the team that planned and orchestrated top-secret meetings that culminated in the signing of the Oslo Accords.

She spoke to Louise Hidalgo in 2010.

(Photo: Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signs the historic Oslo Accords looked on by (from left) Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, unidentified aide, US President Bill Clinton and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Credit: J David Ake/AFP via Getty Images)

Victor Jara: killed in Chile's coup Sep 08, 2023

Show notes

On 11 September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet deposed Chile's President Salvador Allende in a military coup.

Thousands of people were tortured and killed in the months after the coup, including the folk singer Victor Jara. His widow, Joan Jara, spoke to Gideon Long in 2013.

(Photo: Victor Jara. Credit: Gems/Redferns via Getty Images)

Organising Chile's 1973 military coup Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

On 11 September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet deposed Chile's democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, in a violent military coup.

Hermógenes Pérez de Arce was a politician and helped organise the coup. He speaks to Jane Chambers.

(Photo: Hermógenes Pérez de Arce. Credit: sourced)

Murder of Swedish politician Anna Lindh Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

In 2003, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was stabbed to death in a department store in the middle of Stockholm.

The 46-year-old member of the ruling Social Democratic party, was tipped as successor to Swedish Prime Minister Göran Person, and an important international career was likely around the corner. Her murder caused national trauma in Sweden.

Her press secretary and best friend, Eva Franchell, witnessed the murder. She speaks to Marie Fjellborg.

An SMT production for BBC World Service, produced by Anna Iverson.

(Photo: Anna Lindh in 2001. Credit: Getty Images)

Bi Kidude: Zanzibar's 'golden grandmother of music' Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

In the 1980s, Bi Kidude burst onto the international music scene, when she was in her 70s. She was one of the first women from Zanzibar to sing in public without wearing the veil, in the traditional Muslim country.

She was born Fatuma binti Baraka, known as Bi Kidude or "little madame" in Swahili, and fondly referred to as the "golden grandmother of music".

Maryam Hamdani was one of her oldest friends and helped launch Bi Kidude's career globally. Maryam spoke to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the charismatic musician who died in 2013.

(Photo: Bi Kidude at the Sauti za Busara Music Festival. Credit: Mwanzo Millinga/AFP via Getty Images)

Arctic 30: Russian arrest of Greenpeace campaigners Sep 04, 2023

Show notes

On 14 September 2013, the Arctic Sunrise - a ship belonging to the environmental group Greenpeace - embarked on an Arctic expedition.

Its aim was to disrupt the first day of drilling on a newly built oil rig.

This would be the first to drill for Arctic oil - something that had only been made possible in recent years by melting ice in the region.

Frank Hewetson, a Greenpeace campaigner, was on board. He tells the story of the protest and arrest of 30 people by the Russian authorities.

A Falling Tree production for BBC World Service.

(Photo: Sign asking for Frank Hewetson's release. Credit: In Pictures Ltd/Corbis via Getty Images)

Leaving China to study after the Cultural Revolution Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

Launched in 1966 by Communist leader Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution plunged China into a decade of chaos. The education of millions of young people was disrupted and China was cut off from the rest of the world.

When students first started venturing out, it was still a country feeling the after effects of the Cultural Revolution.

Farhana Haider spoke to writer Zha Jianying in 2021. She was one of the first batch of Chinese students to arrive in the USA in the early 1980s.

(Photo: Zha Jianying. Credit: Simon Song/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

Saving Guadalupe from goats Aug 31, 2023

Show notes

In 2000, an expedition to the Mexican island of Guadalupe launched a fight to save its ecosystem from being eaten by goats.

Russian whalers had introduced the goats to the island in the 19th Century and the population exploded as they ate their way through Guadalupe’s plants, shrubs and trees.

Several species of birds were already extinct when a group of scientists, from the San Diego Natural History Museum, visited to inspect the damage.

Their expedition would begin the campaign to save the island’s wildlife from extinction, as Professor Exequiel Ezcurra tells Jane Wilkinson.

(Photo: Goats on Guadalupe Island. Credit: Northern Light Productions)

Egypt's Rabaa massacre Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

On 14 August 2013, Egypt's army killed hundreds of protestors in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square.

They were protesting against a military coup that had taken place a month earlier, in which the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted.

Sameh Elbarky was in the square that day. He speaks to Ben Henderson.

(Photo: A poster of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, among debris in Rabaa Square. Credit: NurPhoto/Corbis via Getty Images)

North and South Korean leaders meet for the first time in decades Aug 29, 2023

Show notes

In June 2000, a historic meeting took place between South Korean president Kim Dae-jung and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il.

This was the first inter-Korean summit since the Korean War, almost 50 years earlier.

Professor Chung-in Moon from South Korea was a special delegate at the summit.

He told Gill Kearsley about his experience in North Korea.

(Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. Credit: Newsmakers)

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